Just a hook-up? My eyes scan his body, and something tells me this wouldn’t be just a hook-up.
“You just want to touch my face?” I joke.
“Is that weird? I’m a weird guy. Maybe it’s the weed talking.”
“It’s not weird,” I giggle. “I want to touch yours too.”
I reach out and touch his stubbly face. His jaw line is beautifully formed, and I run my fingers over it.
Then I take his hand and trace his palm lines. God, his hand is so big…and sexy.
“Definitely the weed,” I say, even though personally I don’t feel that high.
“We should do this again,” he says. “And I’m going to keep thinking about your predicament.”
“Are you always up early on Thursdays?” I ask.
He nods. “Throwing is every Thursday morning, yes. But you’re welcome to hang out here whenever you need to, uh, escape the drug-dealing dudes on the corner. Early or late. My brother is working like twelve hours a day at the manufacturing plant, so he’s barely around. Mi casa es tu casa.”
I shake my head a little in disbelief.
“Why are you being so nice to me?”
He scoffs. “You act like we weren’t great friends fall term.”
“That seems like ages ago.”
“I can sense you’re in a tough place, Maya. And you’re a friend. Anything I can do to help you out, I will.”
I nod. Friend. He says the word again, and it almost feels as though he’s purposefully reinforcing our friends-only status. Not lost is the fact that he says the word while we’re lying, inches from each other, on his bed. Oh, and did I mention I can see his junk prominently pressing against the cloth of his athletic pants?
Because I can.
In addition to being the sexiest, Grant is also the most confusing man on campus.
And he has officially friend-zoned me.
I sigh. “I’m getting a little drowsy. Do you mind if I take a nap here?” I say.
“Of course not,” he says.
I put my glasses on the nightstand, take one of the pillows and put it between my legs so that my knees don’t knock together, turn on my side, and fall asleep.
When I wake up, he’s gone, and there’s a note next to me on his pillow.
Miss Maya,
Hey, you were sleeping so soundly I didn’t want to wake you. I just made some stir-fry for lunch and put it in the fridge. Feel free to help yourself.
XOXO
Grant
Well, isn’t that a sweet thing a friend would do for another friend. Fuck my life.
3
Maya
In the café for dinner, I stare in a huff at the note, showing it to April and Alex. “‘XOXO’? What the heck is that? That is not what you write to a friend. Who does this guy think he is, friend-zoning me, and then writing kiss hug kiss hug on a note?”
Alex shrugs. “Grant’s always been a little off-key. He’s a really expressive guy. I remember on a date that we had, he kissed me on the cheek, which I wasn’t expecting.”
My blood tingles.
“Ugh. Don’t rub it in that you had a date with him.”
“I’m not trying to rub it in, me and DJ, are, well…”
“Okay, don’t rub it in that you’re dating the star football quarterback on campus, either,” I grin. “Have I mentioned I’m happy for you?”
Alex laughs. “Grant was cool, but we just didn’t mesh. Not like I did with DJ. I’m just saying, maybe he’s just like that.”
I twist my face up. “Still seems weird to me.”
“I thought you were just friends with him, though,” April points out. “I mean, you both made that ‘friends-only’ pact during fall term.”
I pause from sipping my chocolate milk. “Okay, we were both so drunk that night, I’m pretty sure I was trying to tell everyone we’d be friends forever, including the campus security guard.”
“True,” April replies. “But maybe the ‘friend pact’ got stuck in his mind.”
Alex adds, “Yeah, Grant seems to remember everything no matter what state of mind he’s in. He’s just got one of those powerful minds. We were both in Faulkner’s special psychology class winter term and we wrote a paper together.”
“Damn. Were you the only two freshmen?” I ask.
“Yep,” she nods. “It was tough but…”
“But?”
“I pulled through with an A! I’ve been waiting to tell you guys!”
I light up. “Oh my God. You are a boss-ass bitch!” I stand up. “Give me a hug.”
April gets up too, and we both hug Alex. “That’s a huge deal. Before, you didn’t even know if you’d get into that class!”
“Thanks,” Alex says with a twinkle in her eye. “And now, let’s finish talking about you. Because we’re both worried about you. I mean, you need to stay enrolled this term! I love being April’s roommate and all, but it’s not the same without you around campus. I mean don’t get me wrong, fall term with DJ was awesome, but…it’s good to just see him at night when we…well you know.” She giggles.
“Well, at least someone’s getting laid lately,” I sigh.
“You’re not?” Alex asks.
I shake my head. “It seems the badass, carefree version of me who was around fall term has taken some hits.”
April frowns, then says, toward me. “Did you come up with anything good on the brainstorm list? I feel like this money thing is a leading cause of stress for you. We want the old Maya back.”
I shake my head. “I shouldn’t even be eating in the café right now. I’m going to have the debt collectors a-knocking on my door. My credit is officially going to be ruined.”
Alex waves to Donnie, a new friend the girls have made over winter term. He was sort of the replacement me when I wasn’t on campus as much during winter term. You know, if I was a jolly bisexual man.
He sits down with his tray and lets out an unusually big breath. “Oof. Wow. What. A. Morning.”
We all stare a little bit. “Uh, what were you up to?” Alex asks him. “Your cheeks look red.”
He looks around, then shrugs. “I was masturbating. A lot. And it was awesome,” he says, singing the last word.
April turns just slightly red-faced. During fall term I’m pretty sure she would have fallen to the floor, but luckily, I’ve broken her in with my mature and open attitude toward sex.
“Do elaborate,” Alex says, waving her hand.
“Really? You want to hear about my Thursday afternoon masturbation session?”
“I’m always curious to hear these stories. What guys do when girls aren’t around?” April asks, and there’s a collective gasp from the table that April is inquiring about sex.
“What?! I am. That’s a legit question,” April clarifies.
“I just didn’t know that was something your virgin brain thought about,” Donnie quips with a grin.
April sighs. “I really need to do something about that, don’t I?”